Angela Carella: Revise the Charter, revamp the city

Published 10:33 pm, Saturday, June 16, 2012

Stamford residents have their work cut out for them when they hit the polls in November.

They will select candidates to represent them in their city, state and federal governments. They will choose the nation's next president. They will vote yes or no on a bunch of questions such as:

Should Stamford residents be limited to serving on one elected board at a time?

Should constables serve four years instead of two?

Should Stamford set up a commission dedicated to historic preservation?

Should Stamford have a Citizen's Bill of Rights?

Should Stamford create a single fire department instead of the six it has now?

Voters' responses to such questions will change Stamford's governing document, the city Charter, which must be revised at least every 10 years.

The volunteers on the Charter Revision Commission have spent the year reviewing the document for errors, conflicts with state law, practices that no longer work and rules that need clarification. They considered changes that could make city government run smoother.

Before the committee turns over its recommendations to the full Board of Representatives -- which decides which questions go on the ballot -- you the voter will have a chance to weigh in.

You are invited to a public hearing slated for 7 p.m. Tuesday in legislative chambers on the fourth floor of the Stamford Government Center, 888 Washington Blvd.

The members of the Charter Revision Commission, which met five or six dozen times, want to hear what you have to say. Co-chairmen Jay Sandak and Vincent Freccia, Stamford natives and attorneys, said few things are more important for Stamford.

Candidates come and go but the Charter lives on, they said.

"The Charter is the Constitution for Stamford," Freccia said. "We often get asked to explain the relationship between the Charter and city ordinances. Ordinances are laws made by the Board of Representatives. The Charter takes priority over everything in the city."

Tuesday's public hearing is a good place to start understanding what choices you will be asked to make in November, Sandak said.

"The Charter is the framework of our city government. This is the opportunity for people to express their opinions about how it works or doesn't work," Sandak said. "Amending it is a very democratic process. By state law, there cannot be one change to the Charter that the electorate doesn't vote on."

Representatives on the Charter Revision Committee will consider points raised by residents during the hearing and submit them along with their own thoughts back to the Charter Revision Commission.

"They can approve our recommendations, reject them, or send items back to us and ask us to tinker with them," Sandak said.

The commission, for example, recommended reducing the size of the Board of Representatives. Now there are two representatives for each of the 20 districts, for a total of 40 board members. The commission wants to make it one representative for each district, for a total of 20 board members.

But last week three members of the board's Charter Revision Committee voted for the idea, three voted against it and one abstained.

"A tie is a failure, at least in committee," Freccia said. "It's still up to the full board."

If you feel strongly about the size of the board -- Stamford has one of the largest representative boards in the country among cities with similar populations -- speak up at Tuesday's public hearing. You may sway the thinking of committee members.

After the public hearing and a final report from the commission, the committee will report to the full Board of Representatives, which then chooses the items to put before voters in November.

"The Board of Representatives is the gatekeeper for what goes on the ballot," Sandak said. "In theory, they can reject everything we recommended and decide not to put anything on the ballot. Or they can put all of our recommendations on the ballot."

Most agree that the biggest item you're likely to decide at the polls concerns Stamford's convoluted, controversial fire service, made up of one career department and five volunteer companies.

The commission recommends that the Charter be changed to create a single fire department with one chief who would have jurisdiction over all fire services. The chief would have two paid assistants, one to oversee career firefighters and one to oversee volunteers.

"What we proposed for the Charter is a framework, not a plan," Sandak said. "It will be up to the decision-makers, if this is adopted, to take the framework and design a plan that works within it."

Another important recommended change to the Charter would resolve a conflict of responsibilities between the city and the Water Pollution Control Authority, which operates the sewage treatment plant. For years the plant has been plagued with foul odors, spillages into Long Island Sound, questionable equipment installations, management failures and financial problems, all while sewer fees skyrocketed.

"The question of who's in charge has created a lot of uncertainty," Sandak said. "Our hope is that some of the management issues that have haunted us for the last few years will get clarified."

The commission also wants to establish in the Charter that Stamford always have an internal auditor to check the finances of city departments, and a Citizens Service Center. Such functions are too important to fall to the budget ax, as the internal auditor already has, Freccia and Sandak said.

You rejuvenate the city when you redo the Charter, they said.

"Process changes. Attitudes change. State and federal laws change," Freccia said. "There will always be a need for Charter revision."

One of Stamford's strengths is that "it doesn't remain static," Sandak said.

"As demographics have changed, as economics have changed, as the workforce has changed, city government has reinvented itself. I think it's really healthy," he said. "It's a renewal. It keeps the city on the cutting edge. But it only works with informed voters."